Saturday, April 08, 2017

Baja Sailing Trip

Deb & I just returned from a sailing trip down in the Baja California Sur of Mexico. We flew into Cabo San Lucas and caught a shuttle to La Paz where we spent one night. Their we met John Tully and Trevor Jolley at the Costa Baja marina. It was there that Tully had arranged to rent a sail boat from Dream Yacht Charters. We chose a 45 foot monohull "cutter" that could sleep 8 persons. Tully had experience and certification to sail the vessel. Trusting Tully we sailed out into the Sea of Cortez towards several islands off the Baja coast. We spent 6 nights on the boat sailing to a new anchorage each evening. The weather was near perfect with warm days and cool nights. On one day we had strong winds which gave us exciting and challenging sailing. At times the winds died down and the ocean was surprisingly calm. That is when we had to turn on the motor to keep moving. Deb and I felt that the area reminded us of Lake Powell. Only on a much larger scale. Rocky desert islands with fun hiking and scrambling with the occasional beautiful white sandy beach. The snorkeling was very good and we spent every day checking out a new area. Many stingrays where in the seas around us and often jumped into the air flapping their "wings" and smacking back down on the surface. We did get to snorkel with some sea lions on one occasion which was quite cool. I did suffer from some sea sickness the first evening but with a little medication I was good the rest of the trip. We anchored at islands and villages with names such as: San Francisco, Isla Espiritu Santo, San Everisto, Isla Pardita, Ensanada Grande. Deb and I both took turns at the helm sailing the big boat. Tully was a good instructor and a good cook too. The week went by way too fast, but as always, it was good to get back home to our home in St. George. We live in a great area!